PATRIOTS NOTEBOOK: Brady guarantees he'll be back

Sunday

Jan 27, 2019 at 5:23 PM

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady says there's no chance that next Sunday night's Super Bowl game with the Los Angeles Rams will be his last.

FOXBORO – He'll be back.

Asked by ESPN's Jeff Darlington during a segment of "Postseason NFL Countdown" that aired on ESPN and ABC prior to Sunday's Pro Bowl if there was any chance that next Sunday night's date with the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium will be his last, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady replied: "Zero.

"I've said that for a long time," said Brady. "I feel like I'm asked that a lot and I feel like I repeat the same answer, but no one wants to believe me.

"I've set a goal for myself at 45 and like I've said before it's very hard to make it that far. I know how hard it was this year and the commitment it takes and hopefully I've learned from some of the things that happened this year to be better next year, but every year's tough."

Asked by Darlington what would stop him from playing, Brady replied: "That's a good question. I'm going to know. I'm going to know when the time's right and I'm going to feel like, OK, I've kind of had enough and I don't quite feel like that yet. I feel like I've still made a lot of improvements and I still feel like I can continue to do it at a championship level and I think that's where I was at before and that's still where I'm at now."

Darlington tweeted that what aired Sunday was an abbreviated version of his interview with Brady. The extended interview will air on Super Bowl Sunday.

Brady, who is in his 19th season since the Patriots selected him in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft, will turn 42 on Aug. 3.

Oh, brother: Patriots rookie running back Sony Michel is aiming to become the second member of his family to pick up a ring this football season.

Michel’s older brother, Marken, was a member of the CFL Grey Cup champion Calgary Stampeders.

The 5-foot-11, 190-pound wide receiver didn’t actually play in the championship game, however. His 2018 season came to an early end when he broke a bone in his scapula in the Stamps’ 12-6 win over the Montreal Alouettes on Oct. 8.

Michel, who played his college ball at the University of Massachusetts, recently signed a reserve/futures contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. He previously signed as an undrafted free agent with the Minnesota Vikings in 2016 but was waived by the team on Aug. 30 of that year and spent two seasons in Canada.

Appearing in 24 regular-season games over those two seasons with the Stampeders, the 25-year-old Michel caught 72 passes for 1,215 yards and eight touchdowns, carried the ball four times for 47 yards and one TD, returned five kickoffs for 89 yards and five punts for 39 yards. Michel played in 11 games in 2018, catching 31 passes for 435 yards and five touchdowns, rushing twice for 36 yards and one TD, returning two kickoffs for 32 yards and five punts for 39.

Sony Michel is returning to the site where his college career came to a bitter end, Georgia losing to Alabama, 26-23, in overtime in last year’s college football playoff national championship, a game in which he gained 98 yards on 14 carries.

Farewell tour?: The flight to Atlanta may have been the last out of Rhode Island’s T.F. Green Airport a couple members of the Patriots’ current coaching staff make with the team.

While linebackers coach-de facto defensive coordinator Brian Flores is believed to be in line to be the Dolphins' next head coach, multiple reports out of Miami are that wide receivers coach Chad O’Shea will likely be joining him as the team's offensive coordinator.

Any potential hirings of coaches currently on the Patriots’ staff cannot be announced until after the Super Bowl.

On Friday, the 46-year-old Vinatieri agreed to terms on a one-year contract with the Indianapolis Colts that will bring him back for his 24th NFL season.

With 236 career wins (regular season and postseason), Vinatieri is tied with Brady for the most all-time wins by a player in league history. Brady, of course, can take the lead with a win in the Super Bowl.

Brady and Vinatieri rank one-two in league history in postseason games with 39 and 32, respectively.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.